


And Every Moment After

by SpicedGold



Series: The Nara Family [22]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Author had an odd thought and wanted to write it down, F/M, reflecting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicedGold/pseuds/SpicedGold
Summary: The answer to Temari's question was No, Shikamaru had no idea what day it was. Why was she asking?He assumed it was to mess with him.It turned out to be a little bit sweeter than he was expecting.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Series: The Nara Family [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1160966
Comments: 21
Kudos: 208





	And Every Moment After

“Do you know what day it is today?”

Shikamaru looked up from breakfast at Temari’s question. It hadn’t sounded like a trick question, but, statistically and historically, it probably was. He sipped his coffee, to both stall and muse. “Wednesday.”

“It’s Friday, but good try.”

Temari didn’t look annoyed with him. She looked quite peaceful, actually, sitting at the kitchen table opposite him and dunking the tea bag in and out of her mug. She hadn’t tied her hair up yet, but Shikamaru knew she had been awake for ages already, even though he had just dragged himself out of bed mere minutes before, and was pretending he was awake.

“Anniversary?” he guessed.

“Nope.”

“Your birthday?”

“Nope.” She grinned at him, which made him relax a bit. So he hadn’t done anything wrong. “I wouldn’t expect you to know.”

“If I’m not supposed to know the answer, why did you ask the question?”

“Just in case.”

He didn’t even know what month it was. If he wasn’t in trouble for forgetting, maybe it had something to do with him? “. . . It’s not my birthday, is it?”

“You tell me,” she replied cheekily, clearly amused with throwing him off balance.

Shikamaru couldn’t quite remember when his birthday was, but he knew it was on top of Shikadai’s. He sat back a bit, and cautiously shouted, “Shikadai, when’s your birthday?”

“Day after yours!” came the instant, muffled reply from further into the house.

“Do you think he answered like that because he doesn’t know when his birthday is, or because he knows I was asking because I don’t know when mine is?” Shikamaru pondered.

“It’s no one’s birthday, and you won’t get the answer,” Temari said smugly.

“So it’s not important?” Shikamaru asked.

“Not really. Just interesting.” Temari watched him. “I might tell you later, if you can’t figure it out.”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “That’s not fair. You know it’s going to bother me.”

“I know.”

“Give me a clue.”

“That takes the fun out of it,” Temari replied.

Shikamaru knew from experience that he wasn’t going to get any more information out of her. He fell into thinking, trying to figure out what could be important enough for her to mention it, but not important enough to warrant her being annoyed at him for forgetting.

Not a birthday, not their anniversary. And something he probably wouldn’t figure out, so maybe it had nothing to do with him. It lingered in his mind, and once he was at work, after agonizing for hours, he asked Naruto, “Do you know what day it is?”

Naruto answered confidently. “Tuesday.”

“It’s Friday, apparently, but no, not what I meant.”

Naruto blinked. “March?”

“Pretty sure it’s June.” Shikamaru huffed. “Temari asked if I knew what day it was, like it was important, but she won’t tell me what it is, and she said I won’t be able to figure it out.”

Naruto shrugged. “So maybe it’s got nothing to do with you.”

“But then why would she bring it up?”

“To mess with you?”

“I considered that,” Shikamaru said slowly. “But she’s in a good mood.”

“Maybe it’s got something to do with Suna, if you won’t get it?”

“I did think of that,” Shikamaru considered. “It’s not Gaara’s or Kankuro’s birthdays.” He paused. “If I haven’t figured it out by lunch time, I’ll call Kankuro. He might know.”

As it turned out, Shikamaru was no closer to an answer by lunch. Irritated by his inability to figure it out, he called the Kazekage’s office.

Kankuro answered.

“What’s up, Shadows?” Kankuro said cheerily, after Shikamaru had greeted him.

“This is going to sound odd, but do you know what day it is?”

“Yeah, it’s Monday,” Kankuro answered with certainty.

From the background, Shikamaru could hear Gaara correct, “It’s Friday.”

Shikamaru closed his eyes, mind still whirring with possibilities. “Temari asked if I knew what today was, like it meant something.”

“Hold up,” Kankuro said. “Lemme check the date.”

There was a brief pause, then Kankuro’s voice turned smug. “Hehehe, yeah, today’s important.”

“Why?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Oh, come on, why not?” Shikamaru grumbled. “Is it bad? Did I do something wrong?”

“Nah, you’re fine.”

“But then why it is important?” Shikamaru could hear Gaara mirror his question, and that confused him further. Kankuro knew why today was important, but Gaara didn’t? What weird secrets did Temari and Kankuro have that Gaara was unaware of?

“Can you give me a clue?” Shikamaru asked.

“Why?” Kankuro snorted. “Sounds like Temari’s having fun keeping you in suspense.”

“Please,” Shikamaru groaned. “It’s going to drive me nuts.”

“Fine. Here’s your clue: it has nothing to do with you.”

“Then why did Temari mention it?”

“Because you were collateral damage. Like, today means something for you, but it’s not important _because_ of you.”

For some reason, Shikamaru felt more confused after Kankuro’s help. “Um . . . sure.”

He hung up not long after that, mind churning.

By the time he returned home that evening, he was no closer to figuring out what Temari meant, and had been distracted all day trying to puzzle it out.

Shikadai was sitting at the kitchen table, pretending to do his homework.

“Hey, kiddo,” Shikamaru flicked his son’s hair. “Is your mom home?”

“Yeah, she’s just getting stuff together for a mission tomorrow.”

Shikamaru sat at the table opposite Shikadai. “Do you have any clue what day it is today?”

Shikadai glanced up. “Thursday.”

“It’s Friday.”

“Cool, no school tomorrow.” Shikadai shoved his homework aside. “Don’t need to finish this, then.”

“Finish your homework,” Temari said firmly, entering the kitchen.

Shikadai huffed irritably under his breath, dragging a page back in front of him.

“Temari,” Shikamaru rubbed a hand wearily over his eyes. “You’ve driven me insane all day – _what_ is the significance of today?”

She grinned at him. “It was fifteen years ago.”

“I can’t even remember what we had for dinner last night; how am I meant to remember a random day fifteen years ago?”

“I told you that you wouldn’t get it.” Temari sat down next to him. “It’s not important, it just . . . amused me, I guess?”

“Amused you,” he repeated flatly. “What amused you? Torturing me? Confusing me?”

“No . . . Amuse isn’t quite the word.” She looked thoughtful. “What’s a word for something interesting in a sweet way?”

Shikadai cocked an eyebrow. “Whimsical?”

“What _whimsied_ you, then?” Shikamaru asked.

Temari leaned forward to kiss him briefly on the cheek, before getting up and moving to the stove. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Tell me now, because it’s irritating me.”

“Okay.” She leant against the counter, arms folded loosely across her stomach. “Fifteen years ago, I met you.”

“Our Chuunin exam fight?” Shikamaru frowned. “Why would you remember that? You didn’t care about me back then.”

“It wasn’t about you. I remember the date, because that’s the day Kankuro and I got our baby brother back,” she explained. “That’s the day Gaara sorta came back to us. And we became a family again.”

“Huh.” That explained why Kankuro had remembered the date. “So . . . what’s that got to do with me? Why are you bringing it up now?”

“It’s stupid,” she said, but she was smiling softly, and Shikamaru felt his stomach flutter.

“Yes?”

“We met fifteen years ago,” she said, still smiling. “When I was fifteen.”

“Yeah?”

“So . . . I’ve known you for half my life, exactly. Which means,” she took the few steps to him, “That every day forwards . . . you’ll have been with me for most of my life.”

He looked searchingly into the green of her eyes. “So the days we’ve been in each other’s lives outnumber the ones we weren’t.”

“Exactly.” She kissed him softly, ignoring the dramatic gagging sound from Shikadai. “Every day after today takes me further into a life where all I know is you.”

“That is quite whimsical,” he admitted. “And oddly poetic, coming from you.”

“Yes, well,” she shrugged, returning to the stove. “Before meeting you there weren’t a lot of good turning points in my life. But the day we fought was definitely one that changed everything for the better. It’s a nice thought that now the bad days of my life are outweighed by the good.”

“So meeting me changed your life?” he put in smugly.

Temari threw him a look over her shoulder. “If you want to get technical, it was meeting Naruto, since he’s the one who knocked some sense into Gaara.”

“Let’s not get technical, then,” Shikamaru decided.

“’Whimsied’ isn’t a word, by the way,” Shikadai said. “And kissing is gross.”

“Give it fifteen years; you’ll change your mind,” Shikamaru shrugged.

Shikadai made a face. “Doubt it.”

“We can check back in on this conversation then. Focus on your homework for now.”

“I’ve done it,” Shikadai said. “Finished while you and Mom were being disgusting.”

“Then get lost and stop ruining our moment,” Temari said.

Shikadai stood up, shrugging casually. “Okay.”

He left the kitchen without further comment, and Shikamaru turned his attention back to Temari. “How much longer were you expecting this moment to last?”

“With any luck,” she smiled. “The rest of our lives.”

Once Shikadai had been herded into bed – he didn’t protest much, always happy to go to sleep – Shikamaru found Temari sitting outside on the porch, watching the stars. He sat down next to her, handing her a beer.

She took it without a word, eyes tracking the stars.

“So tomorrow,” he mused. “You can tell people you’ve known me for most of your life.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “And for the rest of it, as well.”

“Here’s hoping for a long life, then,” he clinked their drinks together casually. “So the days with me far outnumber the ones without.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “Hope so.”

He put an arm around her, and pressed a kiss to her hair. After a silence, he asked, “Has it really been fifteen years? Already?”

“Yes.”

“Damn, that went . . . surprisingly fast. We’ve come a long way.”

She nodded lightly. Softly, she whispered, “You changed my life.”

He squeezed her gently. “Not as much as you changed mine.”

They sat together in silence, sipping drinks and staring at the stars.

This, Temari reflected, had been an unattainable dream fifteen years ago. Now, it was normal. It was expected. It was part of her present and future.

This was a moment she cherished. This, and every moment after.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not meant to be typing (Injured hand) but I just experienced this same moment in my own life with someone very special to me, and I liked the thought. I know it doesn't mean much, but I really liked the notion that the days they have been with me outnumber the days I was without them. Just a passing thought, but one I wanted to get written down. Every moment after this one; I've had them for most of my life : )  
> (PSA - tell your loved ones that you love them)


End file.
